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Graham Farish Spring 2021 new announcements


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On 02/08/2021 at 13:22, Western Aviator said:

Based on careful scrutiny of previous announcements, here are my predictions for the next announcement:

 

1. Some moaning about the choice of models that have been announced

2. Some moaning about the prices

3. Some moaning about how long it will take for the models to arrive

4. Some moaning about what the prices are likely to be when the model arrives 

5. Some moaning about the adjectives used to describe the new models

6. Some moaning about the choice of numbers for locomotive X, coach Y and wagon Z.

7. Some moaning that there is STILL nothing for people modelling the Rutland and Back of Beyond Railway between 1910 and 1911.

8. Possibly a transition-era “very-underwhelmed” and a large logo “nothing for me this time” as well.

 

Let’s see how accurate these predictions will be…


:thankyou:

 

 

 

On 02/08/2021 at 13:33, Bomag said:

 

Given the Summer announcement anything would be an improvement. Also points 2 to 5 are under Bachmann's control.

 

The problem for Bachmann is that the occasional disappointment turns into apathy.

I normally avoid these sort of discussions and prefer to see what is actually announced. In yesterdays OO class 47 anouncement  one of the presenters did say 'its what our cuslomers have been asking for/ demanding'.  This customer expectation along with the general raising of standards from other manudactures such as Accurascale has probably forced Bachmann to  raise its own game in response, result customer is the winner. 

Therefore @Bomag I have to disagree with your remark 'anything would be an improvement', I think we (N gauge modellers) should be making the same demands for better models and not praising those which really are not so good.

 I know that I along with many others felt that the MK2 air conditioned coaches were a retrograde step from the BR Mk 1 examples and the EFE class 17 loco did not correct any of the school boy errors in original design, giving a too high bufferbeam and too high central cab. If as in some quarters these models are high praised surely the signal being sent back to Bachmann is that we do not need to increase investment in new or better tooling as the customer is perfectly happy with what we have made to date inaccurate (in the case of the class 17) and lacking the possibility of close coupling or installation of a light bar (in the case of the MK2s).  As in OO we have some manufactures improving standards, Revolution and Sonic for example. If we are collectively critical of new models instead of just accepting whatever is presented, together with the raised standards from other  manufacturers I remain hopeful that  we may well see improved models in N from Farish too. 

As a footnote, during my time as Trade Liaison Officer for the NGS I visited the factory at Poole where I had a full tour of the site and a long discussion with the designers and Peter Farish about new product. I was asked at one point if 'a millimeter here or there mattered? So that's 6 inches in the real world (OK nearly 6) imagine looking at differnt examples of the prototype (perhaps a class 47) and the wheels were made 6inch larger or smaller, or the front cab windows were made 6inch deeper on one of the prototypes... would you notice the locos looked different from each other?

My answer, by the way, was 'it is no more difficult to get it right as it is wrong'

Let's see what today brings.

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All for more accuracy as long as it is not at the expense of more bits to fall off.

 

When I moved to OO from N, I noticed the fragility of Hornby products so much so that I purchased lots of loco lifts so I would not be handling the locos any more than needed.

 

In N I can happily grab a diesel and not worry so much, though sometimes they can be difficult to get into for chipping.

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48 minutes ago, woodenhead said:

All for more accuracy as long as it is not at the expense of more bits to fall off.

 

When I moved to OO from N, I noticed the fragility of Hornby products so much so that I purchased lots of loco lifts....

 

I couldn't agree more. Dapol have some issues with the N gauge 68 but in general N gauge seems better in this respect. Unfortunately the relative unreliability of N gauge couplers does make some handling inevitable.

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Well, just seen the announcement, my expectation of being underwealmed has not been disappointed. 

 

Inspection saloon in Intercity is about the only highlight.

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3 hours ago, Duncan. said:

 

I normally avoid these sort of discussions and prefer to see what is actually announced. In yesterdays OO class 47 anouncement  one of the presenters did say 'its what our cuslomers have been asking for/ demanding'.  This customer expectation along with the general raising of standards from other manudactures such as Accurascale has probably forced Bachmann to  raise its own game in response, result customer is the winner. 

Therefore @Bomag I have to disagree with your remark 'anything would be an improvement', I think we (N gauge modellers) should be making the same demands for better models and not praising those which really are not so good.

 I know that I along with many others felt that the MK2 air conditioned coaches were a retrograde step from the BR Mk 1 examples and the EFE class 17 loco did not correct any of the school boy errors in original design, giving a too high bufferbeam and too high central cab. If as in some quarters these models are high praised surely the signal being sent back to Bachmann is that we do not need to increase investment in new or better tooling as the customer is perfectly happy with what we have made to date inaccurate (in the case of the class 17) and lacking the possibility of close coupling or installation of a light bar (in the case of the MK2s).  As in OO we have some manufactures improving standards, Revolution and Sonic for example. If we are collectively critical of new models instead of just accepting whatever is presented, together with the raised standards from other  manufacturers I remain hopeful that  we may well see improved models in N from Farish too. 

As a footnote, during my time as Trade Liaison Officer for the NGS I visited the factory at Poole where I had a full tour of the site and a long discussion with the designers and Peter Farish about new product. I was asked at one point if 'a millimeter here or there mattered? So that's 6 inches in the real world (OK nearly 6) imagine looking at differnt examples of the prototype (perhaps a class 47) and the wheels were made 6inch larger or smaller, or the front cab windows were made 6inch deeper on one of the prototypes... would you notice the locos looked different from each other?

My answer, by the way, was 'it is no more difficult to get it right as it is wrong'

Let's see what today brings.

 

Sorry, I have no idea what your post is on about - it's nothing to do with quality and I never said it was. My point was that as the summer announcement (back in May) had no N gauge in it, then announcing *anything* is an improvement. So three LMS inspection saloons and a 45T tank wagon is an improvement. In the end while quality is nice, you first need to actually manufacture something. 

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36 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

Inspection saloon in Intercity is about the only highlight.


you mean is the only highlight. Sorry Bachmann but it is a let down here, I don’t normally like to moan about manufacturer’s but I do feel Bachmann are letting Farish drop.


I don’t have a single pre-order with Farish but I have plenty with Revolution and a few with Dapol.

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Come on chaps, lets pick ourselves back up, we know there will be something new this year, it's the anniversary year.

 

I'm still hopeful the Peaks will be back for Christmas and a 25/3, Bachmann haven't abandoned us, even the lowly 108 got a lighting upgrade on this release and every little counts surely.

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I wonder if they're keeping their powder dry until TINGS in September.

 

I seem to recall somewhere either hearing or reading that BachFarish are preparing to announce something at TINGS, although I could be completely wrong and only dreamt it in the ideal world that is my head :wacko::wacko:

 

Cheers

 

Neal.

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Maybe not abandoned but seemingly reducing support. I didn't notice, but was there anything completely new, as opposed to re-liveried or tweaked, in N? 

 

And some of those N Scalescenes buildings appeared to have been announced and pictured a year or so back. Are they now 'new' for this Autumn?

 

 

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16 minutes ago, grahame said:

Maybe not abandoned but seemingly reducing support. I didn't notice, but was there anything completely new, as opposed to re-liveried or tweaked, in N? 


no it’s  all existing toolings with a new coat of paint, In some cases 2nd versions of models. Still amazed there is no MK2F rerun

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16 minutes ago, grahame said:

Maybe not abandoned but seemingly reducing support. I didn't notice, but was there anything completely new, as opposed to re-liveried or tweaked, in N? 

 

And some of those N Scalescenes buildings appeared to have been announced and pictured a year or so back. Are they now 'new' for this Autumn?

 

 

Hi Gahame

 

The only thing "new tool" is actually just that a tool - a box spanner for undoing crankpins!

 

Regards

 

Roy

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Back when the summer announcements were made many including myself complained about the amount on n gauge. Some of Bachmanns defenders contacted them and quoted them as saying that we would not be let down in the autumn releases. Well Bachman have let us down. A few new liveries and the new tool is a tool. Wow how thrilled we should be, how grateful, how delighted. 
I’m sure that their will be those who disagree with my opinion but I can only say what I feel. 

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24 minutes ago, Roy L S said:

 

The only thing "new tool" is actually just that a tool - a box spanner for undoing crankpins!

 

 

Gosh. What did people do in the past to undo crankpins?

;-)

 

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2 minutes ago, Kris said:

Back when the summer announcements were made many including myself complained about the amount on n gauge. Some of Bachmanns defenders contacted them and quoted them as saying that we would not be let down in the autumn releases. Well Bachman have let us down. A few new liveries and the new tool is a tool. Wow how thrilled we should be, how grateful, how delighted. 
I’m sure that their will be those who disagree with my opinion but I can only say what I feel. 

 

What? Aren't you excited about them re-releasing their Inspection Saloon even though some of them from the last production run (i.e. the LMS version)  are still available at retailers?

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I'm very excited about a third B/G and Maroon inspection saloon...not that I had my fill with the initial NGS release or anything.

 

On a less facetious note, when our club reopened finally the other week, we have now lost all but 2 of our N gauge crew. Not through the passage of time or ill health, but purely through lack of support and supply from the manufacturers. We have now 6 members who've sold up and moved to other interests. I would not be surprised if todays announcement finishes off the clubs N gauge involvement, as the remaining two are to be honest more interested in the MERG side of operations and are currently developing the system being adopted for an O gauge layout. I don't count myself in those numbers, but I only involve myself now due to the stock I hold as without it the layout has almost nothing to operate with. My interest in N ceased and desisted along with the rest of the club to be honest and I've moved on to other scales which do have widespread support for my personal interests too. I guess this announcement for me isn't so much a 'nothing for me' but its certainly a 'nothing to entice me back'.

 

That 47 announcement though...bit of a stonker! Very pleased with that. Hopefully its up to the standards I've grown accustomed to with primarily going back to the US market.

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28 minutes ago, Kris said:

Back when the summer announcements were made many including myself complained about the amount on n gauge. Some of Bachmanns defenders contacted them and quoted them as saying that we would not be let down in the autumn releases. Well Bachman have let us down. A few new liveries and the new tool is a tool. Wow how thrilled we should be, how grateful, how delighted. 
I’m sure that their will be those who disagree with my opinion but I can only say what I feel. 


The only reference I ever saw was form Osborn models on another site saying “n gauge won’t be forgotten this time round”, not sure how reliable that source is to be fair.

 

but I do agree it is a let down, this was the one quarter with TINGS coming up you would want to push N gauge, you could grab people’s attention and wallets with a new model that would be on sale there. Sadly for Bachmann my money will probably get put towards whatever Revolution are going to bring out

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I fear that the biggest N manufacturer starving the Market will ultimately have the effect of killing demand, it almost feels as if with these latest obscure releases they are producing models that few will buy to justify a withdrawal.

 

They have an amazing portfolio of tooling and no end of options so even without anything new tool they could satisfy growing demand for Mk1s 16T mineral wagons etc. You only have to look (wince?) at the prices models sell for on eBay to know that there is demand. Try to find an 08 at a price south of £100 - you have to be very lucky.

 

I haven't seen any evidence of announcements at TINGS just that Bachmann are going to be there. 

 

I may have to order another Sonic J50 to cheer myself up.

 

Roy

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2 minutes ago, Ed-farms said:


The only reference I ever saw was form Osborn models on another site saying “n gauge won’t be forgotten this time round”, not sure how reliable that source is to be fair.

 

but I do agree it is a let down, this was the one quarter with TINGS coming up you would want to push N gauge, you could grab people’s attention and wallets with a new model that would be on sale there. Sadly for Bachmann my money will probably get put towards whatever Revolution are going to bring out

They quoted it on here too and others took up the cry. 
 

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3 minutes ago, Ed-farms said:


The only reference I ever saw was form Osborn models on another site saying “n gauge won’t be forgotten this time round”, not sure how reliable that source is to be fair.

 

 

I have known Maurice for about 20 years, I would say that the source is highly reliable.

 

Regards

 

Roy

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2 minutes ago, Roy L S said:

 

I haven't seen any evidence of announcements at TINGS just that Bachmann are going to be there. 


If Bachmann were planning a withdrawal from N Gauge, would they bother showing up to TINGS? 
 

The fact they are there should be seen as an opportunity for N Gauge modellers to politely (!!!) express their growing frustration that Bachmann do not appear to be providing the models we want to see.

 

Although today was undoubtedly a disappointment, I still think we are in that awkward period between the change in their announcement method. Look at the Class 47 for example. They’ve been working on that for over a year according to yesterday’s presentation, so what’s to say they aren’t doing similar with something in N. 
 

I will become more concerned about Bachmann’s long term commitment to N Gauge if we’re still not seeing new tooling appearing through next year. 
 

In the meantime, thank goodness for Revolution & Sonic! 
 

Tom. 

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39 minutes ago, montyburns56 said:

 

What? Aren't you excited about them re-releasing their Inspection Saloon even though some of them from the last production run (i.e. the LMS version)  are still available at retailers?

 

The NGS still has quite a few and in a choice of liveries for just £23 each (almost half of the likely retail price for the new batch). 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, grahame said:

 

The NGS still has quite a few and in a choice of liveries for just £23 each (almost half of the likely retail price for the new batch). 

 

 

Two versions left, Crimson with Yellow Ends (Preserved) and LMS Unlined.

 

Best

 

Scott.

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17 minutes ago, Roy L S said:

I fear that the biggest N manufacturer starving the Market will ultimately have the effect of killing demand, it almost feels as if with these latest obscure releases they are producing models that few will buy to justify a withdrawal.

 

 

I don't know about 'killing' demand but certainly not currently satisfying it. And that latent demand will simply go elsewhere or evaporate. No doubt other N gauge manufacturers will benefit from that (should they produce the right and appropriate models).

 

I'm also not so sure there is a planned withdrawal (although perhaps a down grading of support for the scale). After all they have a lot of skin in the game; tooling that can still be used, a legacy and recently developed range, and a few announcements/developments that haven't yet come to fruition.

 

Fingers crossed, eh?

 

 

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You now have the bizarre situation that OO scale modellers have loads of shiny new stuff to buy and little funds to buy it as a result whilst in N scale it is the other way around.  Cash waiting, nothing in the shops to buy unless you want to pay well over the odds on the second hand market.

 

I am in the market for an Intercity saloon though, the first Farish announcement in nearly eighteen months that suits my modelling area but need to establish if it suits being modified with a blue stripe to the Scotrail variant.

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